If I didn’t pronounce something correctly, I’d be met with a blank look. Viet Vision Travel customizes unique Vietnam vacation, Vietnam tour packages and multi-country tours to help you explore Vietnam & Indochina on your way. Unlike in Vietnamese, this consonant is never found in initial position in English. The “w” sound of the glide following the initial “ng” is described phonetically as a labio-velar approximant. Such changes can be found among individual speakers of any language. see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds; sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations Those wanting to learn the Vietnamese language may believe that learning proper pronunciation is going to be difficult, or even impossible, since they haven’t spent their lives learning and listening to the language. [ŋ] is the velar nasal found in the middle of the English word “si ng er”. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. Instead of fully articulating the “ng” with a complete closure between tongue and velum, some speakers may begin to form the “w” glide prematurely – all while the velum is lowered and (a little) air is escaping through the nose. hence you end up sorta having to sing out the words. ; According to a user from Canada, the name Uyen is of Vietnamese origin and means "Deep (knowledge), elegant, noble". Learn more. ; According to a user from Arizona, U.S., the name Uyen is of Vietnamese origin and means "Deep". **. I find that non-Vietnamese will get the pronunciation right, though, when you tell them patiently. His last name took on the Americanized pronunciation of, basically, “Gwen”. Pay speacial attention to what the roof of your mouth and your nose are doing when you switch between nasalized and ordinary sounds. Pronounce Names Right! Vietnamese Pronunciation. Similar names in other Asian cultures include Wu/Woo (Mandarin), Ng (Cantonese, Hakka), and Oh (Korean). Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam spoken by 90% of the Vietnamese people. Baby Names. Understanding that the pronunciation is correctly just one syllable, however, the correct way to say Nguyen is Winn. Therefore, as long as you can master the pronunciation of vowels, some consonants, and of course the tones, you'll be able to pronounce most Vietnamese words on your own. 21 Languages. Guy Propski - practice saying “ng” at the beginning of a word. Anybody can learn to produce this sound accuratley, though. In the process of change, the final consonants go to change the syllabic endings and the initial consonant moves from mixed unvoiced and voiced consonant to separation. Pronounced by Native Speakers. Thank you for helping build the largest language community on the internet. I would like to here from all of you of the vietnamese names that sound funny in English. A list of submitted names in which the usage is Vietnamese. =). It’s pronounced “Ing” (rhymrd with “ring”). The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Vietnamese language. This is not how it is pronounced in strict Vietnamese, of course. the “ng” sound is not found at the beginning of any english words. Practice going back and forth between the pairs … “bop/mop”, “dip/nip”. The appearance of tones began around the sixth century (the northern period in the history of Vietnam) with three tones and stable developed in the 12th century (the Ly Dynasty) with 6 tones. Read on to gain a deeper understanding of the Vietnamese alphabet and pronunciation which will be useful for your Vietnam vacation. Pronunciation. In Vietnamese, “t” is an unaspriated alveolar stop {IPA symbol [t]} and “th” is an aspirated alveolar stop {IPA symbol [t[sup]h]}. **. This enables independent learners to pronounce the word correctly. Vietnam Traffic – The Reality of Traffic in Vietnam & Essential Guides, International Tour Operator License in Vietnam & Indochina, A/a, Ă/ă, Â/â, E/e, Ê/ê, I/i, O/o, Ô/ô, Ơ/ơ, U/u, Ư/ư, Y/y, À/à, Ằ/ằ, Ầ/ầ, È/è, Ề/ề, Ì/ì, Ò/ò, Ồ/ồ, Ờ/ờ, Ù/ù, Ừ/ừ, Ỳ/ỳ, mid falling, ˧˩ (Northern); dipping, ˨˩˥ (Southern), Ả/ả, Ẳ/ẳ, Ẩ/ẩ, Ẻ/ẻ, Ể/ể, Ỉ/ỉ, Ỏ/ỏ, Ổ/ổ, Ở/ở, Ủ/ủ, Ử/ử, Ỷ/ỷ, glottalized rising, ˧˥ˀ(Northern); same as Hỏi tone (Southern), Ã/ã, Ẵ/ẵ, Ẫ/ẫ, Ẽ/ẽ, Ễ/ễ, Ĩ/ĩ, Õ/õ, Ỗ/ỗ, Ỡ/ỡ, Ũ/ũ, Ữ/ữ, Ỹ/ỹ, Á/á, Ắ/ắ, Ấ/ấ, É/é, Ế/ế, Í/í, Ó/ó, Ố/ố, Ớ/ớ, Ú/ú, Ứ/ứ, Ý/ý, glottalized falling, ˧˨ˀ(Northern); low rising, ˩˧(Southern), Ạ/ạ, Ặ/ặ, Ậ/ậ, Ẹ/ẹ, Ệ/ệ, Ị/ị, Ọ/ọ, Ộ/ộ, Ợ/ợ, Ụ/ụ, Ự/ự, Ỵ/ỵ. er, none of them. Therefore, it is quite easy to learn how to write Vietnamese but it is difficult to learn how to speak it out. When one hears the Vietnamese language spoken fluently, it has a fast pace and a singsong quality to it. That’s what throws a lot of people. Learning the Vietnamese alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Thi in vietnamese pronunciations with meanings, synonyms, antonyms, translations, sentences and more. Nguyễn pronunciation Nguyễn. If you’re interested, one method of spelling Vietnamese on the Internet is to just put the diacritics after the vowels involved instead of over or under them as they’re supposed to be in writing. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=117657. It is important to understand that Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language. ahk-sikh It’s pronounced “nguyen” just like it’s spelled: ng-uye (the tripthong)-n. The Vietnamese spelling as the little hat over the e. There’s also the issue of tone as Vietnamese is one of the tone languages. Search Main Features. 98 % 98% of the mispronunciation of names can be corrected in simple ways. so basically, unless you… are vietnamese /can speak vietnamese / took a vietnamese language… you’ll never be able to get it right. If enough speakers share a battery of such changes, however, they can become marks of a separate dialect. Pronounce Names Right! The name Nguyen is thus spelled: Nguye^~n. Some brands such as Nokia or Coca-Cola sound more or less the same. I tell people just to say “noo-WHEN” really fast to make it sound like one syllable. Check it out! The Vietnamese given name usually has a literal meaning: for girls it often represents beauty, such as bird or flower names; for boys it often reflects attributes and characteristics that the parents want in their son, such as intelligence or modesty. As an example, let’s look at the most common name–Nguyen. What’s important, as you alluded, is to not confuse someone’s ideolect with the entire language. The three major dialects are: Hanoi (North), Hue (Central), and Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (South). Learning the Vietnamese alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Vietnamese language. “Toi” (with the hat over the o) means “I” and “Thoi” (with the hat over the o) means “to stop,” “to run (of color),” or a particle used at the end of a phrase to indicate “only.”. Vietnamese Alphabet. Languages include Mandarin, Spanish, French, Hindi, Greek, Arabic, Japanese, Russian and more. New names and languages are added to the site everyday. Most of the time, it amounts to nothing and can be regarded as a linguistic quirk of an individual or family. Saigon has fewer tones, but they still spell the words with the same tone marks used in the North. As bordelond indicates, there is some dialectal variation among Vietnamese speakers. When one hears the Vietnamese language spoken fluently, it has a fast pace and a singsong quality to it. Consider that “m” is simply a nasalized “b”, and that “n” is a nasalized “d”. *Originally posted by Monty * Listen to the audio pronunciation of Ly (Vietnamese name) on pronouncekiwi. see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds; sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations so which one’s right? The Vietnamese pronunciation is [ŋwǐˀən] ( listen) in northern dialect or [ŋwĩəŋ] ( listen) in southern dialect, in both cases, in one syllable. I have a large family and we've recycled a lot of common Vietnamese names already (Minh, Tuan, Huy, etc.) Can you now practice going back and forth between “Gwen/Nguyen”? How to pronounce Vietnamese. I started learning Vietnamese just a few days before I arrived in Vietnam. **Either he is Americanized & doesn’t know it, or he’s pronouncing it correctly and you’re hearing “win”. Any good Vietnamese baby boy names that would be somewhat easy to pronounce in English? View pronunciation guides for names in the news from Vietnam. phở pronunciation phở. How to say Vietnamese. In the Vietnamese alphabet, there are: 11 single vowels: a, ă, â, e, ê, i, o, ô, ơ, u, ư, y. Therefore, it is quite easy to learn how to write Vietnamese but it is difficult to learn how to speak it out. Pronounced by Native Speakers. A good friend of mine is Vietnamese- born in Vietnam, but raised most of his life in the United States. ahk-sikh Words like passport and visa should generally be understood if you pronounce them as they are. Either he is Americanized & doesn’t know it, or he’s pronouncing it correctly and you’re hearing “win”. Well, the “ng” is really the same sound as the “ng” in “sing;” however, it’s at the beginning of the syllable, not the end. The Vietnamese language has 6 tones which are noted as follows: Asia vacation Indochina tours Myanmar tours Yangon tours Bagan tours Mandalay tours Inle Lake tours Vietnam tours Vietnam tour operator Vietnam ho chi minh tour package Cambodia tours Laos tours Bhutan tours Nepal tours Hanoi local tour Shoreexcursions.asia, Vietnam Itinerary 1 Week Vietnam Itinerary 2 Weeks Vietnam Itinerary 3 Weeks, Vietnam Itinerary 10 Days Vietnam Itinerary 12 Days, We are recommended by Tripadvisor six years in a row, Hanoi head office: No 31 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam Hotline: +84 909 896 286 Tel: +84 24 3556 1146 | +84 24 3556 1172 Ho Chi Minh office: 6th Floor Thanh Dung Tower, 179 Nguyen Cu Trinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Hotline: +84 989 018 255 Tel: +84 28 3838 9551 | +84 28 3837 8375 International Tour Operator License: 01-239 / TCDL-GP LHQT, © Copyright 2006-2020 Viet Vision Travel - Use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Viet Vision Travel's User Agreement, Term & Conditions and Private Statement | Jobs with Us, Vietnamese Alphabet of 29 Letters & How to Pronounce Them, The phonology of 29 Letters in Vietnamese Alphabet. 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